Cowes RNLI lifeboat was among the vessels involved in a major emergency in Southampton Water yesterday evening when a tug suddenly capsized, resulting in a subsequent dramatic life or death rescue of one of the two men aboard.

The tug, the Asterix, attached to oil refinery at Fawley, capsized and subsequently began to sink just off the refinery’s pontoon.

One crew member of the Asterix managed to jump clear and swim to safety, leaving one man still unaccounted for.